East Garden Hosts Aloha Youth Workshop

Two years ago, True Mother initiated a workshop in the hopes of reaching out to young Unificationists. At the first Aloha workshop in Hawaii, True Mother said:

“My message today for you is to become water that spreads out the true love of our Heavenly Parent and the True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind….Hence, I would like to entertain great hopes of your big dreams… As you compare the nature here and that of your countries, please reflect on the field you will study and how you can become leaders that can realize the ideal of the Kingdom of Heaven that our Heavenly Parent originally created, that same beauty within your countries. Please become determined to become like pure water.”

Now, another Aloha workshop is taking place at East Garden from December 28-31, the first youth workshop to be held there. 26 16-20 year olds from across the nation gathered at East Garden for the beginning of the workshop. Based on True Mother’s passionate desire to invest in the youth as future leaders, the workshop aims to help young people inherit the heart of True Parents and to help provide them with skills that can help serve them in their current and future work in their community.

East Garden provides the rich historical environment where the young people can hear about and see the places True Parents lived and invested in.

This workshop balances practical skill development and spiritual education. Within the first full day of the workshop, the students have been through Divine Principle lecture practice through napkin lecture training, public speaking practice, and have heard inspiring lectures from Gerry Servito on what it means to be a leader based on Unification Thought and the Divine Principle.

“What is so amazing about this workshop is that not only will these young people be given tools but, they will be developing programs to help their local communities,” said one staff member. The organizers hope that what the students learn at the workshop can be tangible skills as well as theoretical understanding, so they can put these new tools into practice back home.

The students are eager to learn, evidenced by their engagement and the very act of dedicating their short winter break to come to such a workshop.

One of the highlights so far has been morning Hoon Dok Hwe (scripture reading), where many of the young people have reported feeling a deep connection to True Parents. Students have been inspired especially when reading excerpts of the Cham Bumo Gyeong detailing True Father’s early life.

The workshop continues up until New Year’s Eve, and students and staff look forward to more inspiration in the days ahead.